Archive for August, 2006

Listed by most recent articles first.

• Top 20 Psychiatric Prescriptions for 2005
  These are the top 20 psychiatric medications by number of U.S. prescriptions dispensed in 2005.   Medication Used for... U.S. Prescriptions 1. Xanax Anxiety 34,230,000 2. Zoloft Depression, anxiety 26,976,000 3. Lexapro Depression, anxiety 24,788,000 4. Prozac Depression, anxiety 21,403,000 5. Ativan Anxiety, panic disorder 19,002,000 6. Effexor XR Depression, ...
• Depressed Parents and the Effects on Their Children
  Schools are reporting more and more children entering who seem to be unable to meet the basic demands of sitting, paying attention, and controlling themselves. More and more children are placed in special ed programs. ...
• Key Points about Antidepressant Therapy
  It takes from two to six weeks for an antidepressant to begin to work. You may feel worse before you feel better because side effects can occur almost immediately, whereas therapeutic benefits appear later. The ...
• The Benefits of Stress Management
  We are all familiar with stress — it's a fact of life. With the rapid pace of modern living, it feels increasingly difficult to keep up. Sadly, the negative effects of stress are widespread and ...
• Don’t Stress Holiday Travel
  If you're planning a trip during the festive season, you're not alone. Everyone else seems to be traveling, too. The holiday season accounts for nearly 10 percent of all miles traveled by Americans during the ...
• Anxiety, Worry, and Stress, Oh My: The Bugaboos of Modern Life
  Anxiety, worry, and stress are all afflictions of life in the modern world. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 10 percent of the American population, or 24 million people, suffer from anxiety ...
• Seasonal Stepfamily Stress: Tips to Help All Your Family Members Enjoy the Holidays
  In an ideal world, holidays would bring all families closer together and heal all wounds. Parents, stepparents, ex-spouses, children and grandparents would embrace each other in perfect harmony, and family discord would disappear, at least ...
• Seeking (and Finding) Reassurance When Bereaved
  “Papa, Can You Hear Me?”Seeking Reassurance When Bereaved Please, give me a sign… To know that you’re all right… To know that you’re safe… To know ...
• Possible Causes of Depression
  Recent research has shown consistently that depression rarely is due to a single event or condition. Rather, the development of depression is a complicated cognitive, behavioral, hormonal and biochemical process. A person's genetic factors may ...
• Depression and Baby Boomers: How Having It All May Be Too Much
  Among the generation that has continually attempted to have it all, many baby boomers are now reluctantly adding a diagnosis of depression to their list of gains. As the leading cause of disability in the ...
• The Truth about Grief and Loss
  Lauren was frightened. She considered herself to be a resilient, "no-nonsense" woman. Since the death of her dad, however, she had fallen apart, and feared that she wouldn't be able to put herself back together. As ...
• Being the Expert on Yourself
  You are the best expert on yourself. You have, by far, more knowledge about yourself than anyone else. No one else lives inside your body or inside your brain. No one else has ever experienced ...
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the mid-1980s. EMDR is one of the newer “power” therapies to be acknowledged and accepted both by the professional community and ...
• Identifying and Treating Major Depression
  I feel like I'm floating under an endless gray sky in an endless gray sea of tepid water. There is no horizon. There is nothing to break the monotony. I feel nothing. I see nothing. ...
• Taking Medication: Special Concerns in Older Adults
  Have you ever been concerned about relapse after missing a few doses of antibiotic pills? Do medications tie knots in your stomach and make eating a chore? Did you ever forget if you’ve already taken ...
• More Information on Medications for Mania and Bipolar Disorder
  Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness) is characterized by cycling mood changes: severe highs (mania) and lows (depression). Cycles may be predominantly manic or depressive with normal mood between cycles. Mood swings may follow each other very ...
• Depression and Women
  Women are two to three times more likely than men to suffer from depression. This, in no way, suggests that women are weaker than men. Recent research shows that women's biology differs from men's in many ...
• Men Can Get the Blues
  Depression traditionally has been considered a female disorder. But men can and do get depressed. The big difference is that men may be less likely to seek treatment for depression because they see mental illness ...
• All About Depression
  Some people are misguided in thinking that depression is merely a state of mind that people can "snap out of" if they are willing. This is not true. Depression is a real illness, just like ...
• Depression and Smoking
  Depression is associated with an increased frequency of smoking. Addicted smokers are characterized by preoccupation with smoking, abnormal attachment to cigarettes and anticipation of brain reward from the drugs in cigarette smoke. Attempts to quit ...
• Risk Factors Associated with Depression
  While depression can strike anyone at any time, research has identified several factors associated with an increased risk for depression: Family History—Having an immediate family member with depression increases the risk of developing depression. Other ...
• Tips for Managing Your Depression
  Do not expect too much from yourself too soon, as this will only accentuate feelings of failure. Avoid setting difficult goals or taking on new responsibilities. Break large tasks into small ones, set some priorities, and ...
• An Introduction to Treatment of Depression
  Fortunately, there are many effective treatment options for depression. To be most effective, treatment should be specifically tailored to each individual. That is why a detailed interview by a mental health professional is extremely valuable. ...
• St. John’s Wort for Depression
  St. John's Wort is the common name for hypericum perforatum, an herbal remedy for the treatment of depression that has become increasingly popular over the past decade in the United States. It is widely used ...
• Getting Help for Bipolar Disorder
  Anyone with bipolar disorder should be under the care of a psychiatrist skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Other mental health professionals, such as psychologists and psychiatric social workers, can assist in ...